Photographers often want to take close-up photographs of small objects. This is commonly referred to as “macro” photography and generally involves taking photographs of objects that may be less than a few inches from the camera. In contrast, “normal” photography generally involves taking a photograph of relatively large objects such as landscapes or people that are no closer than several feet away from the camera. Designing a camera lens capable of both normal and macro photography can be difficult because of the range of focus and light collection capabilities required for acceptable image quality.
Expensive cameras typically have lens mounts that permit a photographer to change lenses as required for the type of photography being done. Alternatively, an additional lens element could be added to a fixed lens system. A magnifier, for example, can be added in front of the normal lens of a camera for macro photography. A drawback of these types of cameras is the need to have separate lenses or lens elements, which may be inconvenient for a casual photographer and/or undesirable for compact cameras. Another alternative is to provide a camera with a mechanical system that can shift an additional lens element into or out of the optical path of the camera for different types of photography. Such mechanical systems generally have moving parts that can add to the cost and complexity of a camera and may be an additional reliability concern.
A lens system that is capable of both normal and macro photography is thus desired that is suitable for inexpensive and compact cameras.